Worthington Industries has initiated legal proceedings with the US Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the US International Trade Commission (USITC) for relief from unfair imports of certain non-refillable steel cylinders from India.
Worthington’s action alleges that non-refillable steel cylinders meeting US. Department of Transportation specification 39 for pressure vessels (DOT-39 cylinders) imported from India are being sold at less than fair value, or “dumped,” in the United States by margins as high as 57 per cent.
They are also being unfairly subsidized by the Indian government. DOT-39 cylinders are used in a wide variety of applications, but primarily in the transportation and delivery of refrigerant gases serving the US HVAC industry, as well as helium, and foam insulation, sealants, and adhesives used in construction.
Worthington Industries president and CEO Andy Rose said low priced imports from India have surged since its successful trade case against China demonstrating the adverse impact that unfair import competition has on their business.
“The U.S. non-refillable cylinders market continues to be a target for opportunistic foreign industries, but we are prepared to do everything in our power to ensure we can continue serving our customers with American-made products that provide high-quality jobs in our manufacturing facilities in Ohio and Kentucky. We need trade relief against India for us to be able to do that,” Rose said.
Dumped and subsidized Indian DOT-39 cylinders have surged into the U.S. market at aggressively low prices over the past three years. Worthington, the sole remaining US manufacturer of DOT-39 cylinders, successfully sought trade relief in 2020 from the US government after losing substantial sales, market share, and revenue to unfair imports of DOT-39 cylinders from China.
As Chinese import volumes abated and pricing improved in response to that successful trade case, imports of the same product from India flooded into the United States.
“After facing years of dumping by China, the onslaught of low-priced Indian imports has thwarted the recovery of Worthington’s DOT-39 cylinders business,” Rose said.
“Worthington has faced declines in market share, sales, shipments, capacity utilization, and workforce as it has suffered under the pressure of unfair Indian imports.”
Worthington made a $21 million investment in a new DOT-39 cylinder production line in Columbus, Ohio and added 90 jobs as part of its plan for growth after relief was granted in the China case.
“Low-priced Indian imports have resulted in the substantial loss of the new jobs and threatens the ongoing manufacture of this product in the United States,” he said.
Commerce will next determine whether to initiate the antidumping duty and countervailing duty investigations within 20 days of yesterday’s petition filing.
The USITC will reach a preliminary determination of material injury or threat of material injury within 45 days. The entire investigative process will take approximately one year, with final determinations of dumping, subsidization and injury likely occurring in the second quarter of 2024.
The non-refillable steel cylinders covered by the petitions are portable, seamed (welded) pressure vessels meeting the requirements of USDOT specification 39, Transport Canada Specification 39M, or United Nations pressure receptacle standard ISO 11118 for non-reusable (non-refillable) cylinders for hazardous material packaging.
Certain non-refillable cylinders range in size from 100-cubic inch (1.6 liter) water capacity to 1,526-cubic inch (25 liter) in water capacity. They are used in a wide variety of applications, but primarily in the transportation and delivery of refrigerant gases, helium, and foam insulations, sealants, and adhesives used in construction.